PE exam - October 2011

[JagdishRawat]

Hello all:

I recently came to know about this forum while searching for the tips on PE exam in metallurgical engineering. I have following questions for this exam -

1) Is anyone taking the exam in October 2011?
2) Is it really tough exam?
3) Historically, passing rate is between 50% to 65%. Is it because that it is a tough exam or because examinees take it lightly?
4) Is Transport Phenomenon still part of the exam? If yes, which book will you recommend? Does it come with solution manual?
5) I am going through the chapter on casting, forging, machining etc. Do i have to know the positives and negatives of different methods e.g. drawbacks of open die forging and/or types of hammer used in forging etc?

Thanks for your time.

Met1CO

 

[NCSU0165]

Met1co,

Thanks for the information. From your perspective which books provided the best information and the best practice problems? I am someone who needs to do a lot of practice problems.

Thanks,
NCSU0165

 

[DQX1]

TMS just released a new study guide for the Metallurgical and Materials PE examination.
Its much more comprehensive than the previous version. Nayak Subu, from TMS put it together with the commeette and sent it to me yesterday. I may buy it this time around.

Click on the link below or copy and paste.

http://iweb.tchase/ProductDetail.aspx?

Product_code=12-7605-

 

[JagdishRawat]

Transport Phenomena in Materials Processing' by Poirier and Geiger is a good book and it comes with solution manual.

Dieter is also a good book and it has answer keys at the end.

Callister is also a good book but the problems are easy to solve and answer keys are given at the end.

Thermo book by Gaskell is also excellent in solving problem. I think that some one has solved all the problems and posted the solution online. You can download it and it is free of cost.

 

[NCSU0165]

Thanks Met1co I have all those books and I will buy the solution manual for the Poirier and Geiger book. DQX1 so Mr. Subu sent you the study guide. Mary Samsa sent me the study guide too. So you said you may buy the study guide, is it not the same one that Mr. Subu sent you or is the one online different but with more problems? Please explain.

 

[DQX1]

Thanks, I will look info them.

 

[DQX1]

NCSUO265,

Mr. Subu told me on the phone that it is the elaborated on with 90 plus questions and that match the percentage of problems on the actual exam. Like Met1 said, its good to use it to test yourself, but also think that it'll help you to track where you are on your review process.

 

[NCSU0165]

DQX1, I just went through the study guide Mary Samsa sent me, and it only contains 75 questions and a lot of the questions were exactly the same from the previous study guide. Let me know what else you find out.

 

[Maui]

In New York you are required to work under a licensed and registered PE in order to site for the PE exam. In Wisconsin you must provide 5 references from 5 actively licensed and registered PEs. I believe that in Colorado you are required to do neither. Every state has its own set of rules, and the only way to find out what the requirements are in your particular state you need to contact the state board directly.

In just about every state you are allowed to put your license on inactive status if you decide that you can't justify paying the registration fees, or if paying for the continuing ed credits that are required to keep your license active are too great of a financial burden. In New York, Pennsylvania, and Colorado you have your license for life, so you can re-activate it at any time down the road if you choose to do so. In fact, I recently did this in New York. But in most states if you are on inactive status for too long you will have to go through the entire application process again, and re-sit for the exam. But there is a way around this for those of you who might be affected. I strongly recommend that everyone, once they have successfully passed the exam, get a second license issued in another state through reciprocity. In Colorado, for example, the registration fees are quite low (in the neighborhood of $50/year) and there are no continuing education credit requirements at all. So for only $50/year, you can remain actively licensed while your other license remains on inactive status. And if your inactive license expires, you may be able to re-apply for it through reciprocity from Colorado. It's something to consider.

The reason that no decent review books exist for the metallurgical exam is because throughout the entire United States, only about 50 people sit for the exam in any given year. That number is greatly eclipsed by those who sit for the civil and mechanical engineering exams, which both have several study guides available. It simply comes down to numbers - why would someone bother to write a study guide if only about 50 people would buy it in any year? I'm not surprised that TMS has been expending some effort to improve their online example questions, since the ones they had on their website were not really representative of what you would see on the actual exam.

It's a difficult test, but with the right prep you can pass it, as many here have shown. Good luck!

Maui

http://www.EngineeringMetallurgy.com

 

[DQX1]

NCSU0165,

I'm going to call her to verify the information Mr Subu gave me. Thanks for letting me know.

 

[DQX1]

Met1Co,

Do you happens to know the website link for the problems and solutions from the Thermo book by Gaskell? Also can you provide me with the ISBN numbers for the books you recommended me?
1-Transport Phenomena in Materials Processing by Poirier and Geiger
2-Dieter
3-Callister
4-Thermo Book by Gaskell

How did each one of these book helped you to pass the exam a lot or little?

Thanks.

 

[JagdishRawat]

The solution for Thermo by Gaskell was posted on a website. I think that a search should bring that up. It appeared to me that either a professor or a student solved the problems and posted them online.

Why do you need ISBN number? If you are trying to purchase the books, amazon can help. Try to buy the latest version of Thermo book by Gaskell because earlier versions have a lot of mistakes.

I can not imagine passing the exam without reading the books you mentioned. I did not prepare for the exam from TMS guide.

Try not to think that how minimum you should read to pass the exam. This exam is just a medium to gain some knowledge/information. Having that extra knowledge brings a feeling of contentment. That in itself is quite rewarding.

Good Luck !

 

[DQX1]

I found all the books plus I ended up buying all of them recommended by the TMS. Thanks!

 

[NCSU0165]

Can someone please explain this problem to me? This was on the TMS exam. The solution is terrible and does not explain anything. The solution is 1.86, not rejected. Any help you can provide will be most helpful.

Thanks,
NCSU0165

Two lines are configured to produce 0.75 mm sheet; their historical standard deviations are unknown but are considered equal. The following data was collected to determine if the mean of the machines' output is equal with 95% confidence

Line 1 Line 2
0.752 0.738
0.784 0.763
0.752 0.748
0.756 0.748
0.761 0.754
0.751 0.742
0.764 0.747
0.752 0.759


What is the value of the test statistic, and is the null hypothesis rejected?
(A) 1.86, not rejected (B) 1.86, rejected (C) 1.98, not rejected (D) 1.98, rejected

 

[JagdishRawat]

I do not know that how much do you know about Hypothesis testing. You have to establish your null hypothesis and alternate hypothesis. Based on the language of the problem, you can safely say that your null hypothesis is -

Ho (null hypothesis) = Means from both the machines are equal.
H1 ( Alternate hypothesis )= Means are not equal.

It is a case of double tailed hypothesis testing.

Does it help?

 

[NCSU0165]

Met1co,

Thanks for your response. I do not think I am calculating the test statistic right. I did (0.7544-0.75)/(0.01063/SQRT 16) and obtained a value of 1.65. How did they obtain 1.86? Please let me know.

Thanks,
NCSU0165

 

[HSCMIE1]

Try the following:
t=(x[1,ave]-(x[2,ave])/(s[p]*sqrt(1/n1+1/n2))
S[p]^2=((n1-1)*s1^2+(n2-1)*s2^2)/(n1+n2-2)
Take the sqrt of that to get s[p]
Should be something like: t= (.759/.749875)/(.00987*.5) = 1.85

To tell if the hypothesis is rejected or not, you need to compare the value and degrees of freedom to a t-test or t-distribution table. Hope this helps...

 

[NCSU0165]

HSCMIE1,

Thanks for the response. Excuse my ignorance, I have never taken statistics before, but do you have reference that contains this formula or is there somewhere online that explains this formula. I am having a difficult time following the equation you provided.

NCSU0165

 

[don4]

Hey NCSU0165,

Did you give this exam this year? How did you do on this exam? If i need to contact you for the question, how should it be? I am new to this forum.